"Watershed Moment In History Of Agriculture": PM Modi After Farm Bills Passed

[MenInG]

'Watershed Moment In History Of Agriculture': PM After Farm Bills Passed
Agri Bills 2020: PM Modi congratulated farmers for the passing of the bills.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the passing of the farm bills in parliament was a "watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture" as he hailed the laws cleared by the Rajya Sabha amid major chaos and drama.
"A watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture! Congratulations to our hardworking farmers on the passage of key bills in Parliament, which will ensure a complete transformation of the agriculture sector as well as empower crores of farmers," he tweeted.

Two of the three big ticket farm bills of the government were passed in Rajya Sabha by voice vote amid unprecedented uproar and protests.

The opposition claimed the government did not have the numbers and to cover it up, all rules were violated as some members raised slogans, tore documents and tried to grab the speaker's microphone.

"This does not end here," said Trinamool Congress's Derek O'Brien, terming it a "murder of democracy". All the opposition MPs are sitting in protest inside the house, hampering the sanitization operations before the Lok Sabha session which begins at 3 pm.

"They cheated. They broke every rule in Parliament. It was a historic day. In the worst sense of the word. They cut RSTV feed so the country couldn't see. They censored RSTV. Don't spread propaganda. We have evidence," Derek O'Brien tweeted.

The agricultural bills have faced strong protests from the opposition and from farmers, especially in north India, who say they will hurt their earnings but the government maintains that they will make it easier for farmers to sell their produce directly to big buyers.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pm-n...ulture-2298307

[MenInG]

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that the ruckus which took place in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on farm bills has tainted the image of Parliament in front of the entire nation. He called the behaviour saddening, unfortunate and shameful.

“As far as I know, this has never happened in the history of Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. This happening in Rajya Sabha is an even bigger matter. Attempts are being made to mislead the farmers on the basis of rumours. What happened is against the decorum of House,” said Singh while addressing a press conference.

“Rajya Sabha is called House of Elders. Those who beleived in parliamentary procedures will be hurt by such behaviour,” he added.

He also hailed the bills passed by Parliament, saying these are landmark legislations.

The defence minister said the legislations have “cemented the strong foundation for ‘Atmanirbhar (sekf-reliant) Agriculture’.”

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were passed by the upper house of Parliament amid protests from the Opposition in Parliament, and farmers in several parts of the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the passage of the bills, stating it was a “watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture”.

In a series of tweets, Prime Minister said that the passage of bills will liberate farmers from decades of various constraints and bullying by middlemen.

“A watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture! Congratulations to our hardworking farmers on the passage of key bills in Parliament, which will ensure a complete transformation of the agriculture sector as well as empower crores of farmers,” said in one of his tweets.

Prime Minister further called the passage of bills a welcoming step, which will let the farmers have easier access to futuristic technology.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india...klJZBsA8O.html

[JaDed]

It looks like a good bill hopefully implementation is good as that is where BJP is absolute disastrous.

[MenInG]

New Delhi: Two of the three big ticket farm bills of the government were passed in Rajya Sabha by voice vote today amid unprecedented uproar and protests. The opposition claimed the government did not have the numbers and there was rampant violation of rules that helped the BJP. "This does not end here," said Trinamool Congress's Derek O'Brien, terming it a "murder of democracy". The opposition MPs sat in protest inside the house for a while, and later, 47 of them moved a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Harivansh Singh.

"They cheated. They broke every rule in Parliament. It was a historic day. In the worst sense of the word. They cut RSTV feed so the country couldn't see. They censored RSTV. Don't spread propaganda. We have evidence," Derek O'Brien later tweeted.

The opposition, which lacked the numbers to block the bills, had demanded that the bills be sent to a select committee for further discussion.

The trouble started as the Deputy Chairman said the opposition resolution was negated and moved to pass the bills by voice vote. The opposition demanded a physical voting, pointing out that they were sitting in parliament. When the Chair refused, they rushed to the Well of the House, attempted to tear up the rule book and tried to snatch the Deputy Chairman's microphone.

"Mahabharat has broken out inside parliament," Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad said. Opposition MPs could be seen recording the moment on cellphones, drawing repeated rebuke from the chair.

Insisting that the rules were not being followed, Mr O' Brien, whose point of order was not accepted, said "This is a brutal murder of the Parliamentary democratic system".

The house was adjourned immediately for 10 minutes and after it resumed, the voice vote took place amid repeated slogans from the opposition who again parked themselves in the Well of the House.

In a video statement, Mr O'Brien who could earlier be seen waving the rule book, later said the Rajya Sabha TV was "cut off" and censored". "The members of the opposition asked for a vote. We were denied it... It is a historic day, in the worst sense," he tweeted.

In the morning, while introducing the bill, the government had the bills are "historic". The BJP insists that the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce Bill, and the Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, will bring a change in the lives of the farmers.

Congratulating farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: "For decades, the Indian farmer was bound by various constraints and bullied by middlemen. The bills passed by Parliament liberate the farmers from such adversities. These bills will add impetus to the efforts to double income of farmers and ensure greater prosperity for them".

Another tweet from him read: "I said it earlier and I say it once again: System of MSP will remain. Government procurement will continue. We are here to serve our farmers. We will do everything possible to support them and ensure a better life for their coming generations".

In June, three agriculture-related ordinances were issued - the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance 2020.

To convert them into laws in the current session, the three corresponding bills have been passed by the Lok Sabha.

The proposed laws are expected to provide barrier-free trade for farmers' produce outside notified farm mandis, and empower farmers to enter into agreements with private players for sale of agri-produce even before production.

The farmers insist the proposed laws are "anti-farmer" and will also affect commission agents and farm labourers.

[Gabbar Singh]

On paper it looks like a good thing.

[CricketCartoons]

It looks like a good bill hopefully implementation is good as that is where BJP is absolute disastrous.

Whose responsibility is to execute laws? Curious to know who provides the last mile implementation.

[JaDed]

Whose responsibility is to execute laws? Curious to know who provides the last mile implementation.

I meant not changing it back again coz they think they missed something or for political gains BJP's job should be to reduce the middlemen completely.

[MenInG]

India's parliament has passed new bills the government says will make it easier for farmers to sell their produce directly to big buyers, despite growing protest from opposition parties and a longtime ally of the governing party.

Opposition legislators raised slogans, tore documents and tried to grab the speaker's microphone in the upper house of India's parliament before two controversial bills were passed by a voice vote on Sunday.

"The passage of both the bills in parliament is indeed a landmark day for Indian agriculture," one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's senior cabinet ministers, Rajnath Singh, said on Twitter.

But India's main opposition Congress party criticised the government over the bills, calling them "black law" and "pro-corporate".

Rahul Gandhi, a top Congress leader, said in a tweet that Modi "is making farmers 'slaves' of the capitalists, which the country will never allow to succeed".

Modi has said the new laws will reform antiquated legislation and remove middlemen from the agriculture trade, allowing farmers to sell to institutional buyers and large retailers such as Walmart.

The bills also make contract farming easier by providing a new set of rules.

But Modi's Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who comes from an alliance party, resigned on Thursday in protest, calling the bills "anti-farmer".

Badal is from a regional party with a strong base in the northern state of Punjab and believes the bills will increase farmer suffering in the breadbasket state.

Her party believes the laws will destroy wholesale markets that ensure fair and timely payments to farmers and weaken the state's farmers and the overall state economy.

Opposition parties say the farmers' bargaining power will be diminished by allowing retailers to have tighter control over them.

Many farmer organisations have in recent days held street protests in Punjab and neighbouring Haryana states against the farm bills.

Farmers in India, where agriculture supports more than half of the country's 1.3 billion people, have seen their economic clout diminish over the last three decades.

Once accounting for a third of India's gross domestic product, farmers now account for only 15 percent of the country's $2.9 trillion economy.

Farmers frequently hold protests to demand better crop prices, more loan waivers and even water delivery systems to guarantee irrigation during dry spells.

Sometimes they stage sit-ins or dump truckloads of vegetables onto highways to disrupt traffic.

More than half of India's farmers are in debt, with 20,638 killing themselves in 2018 and 2019, according to India's National Crime Records Bureau.

"We will make sure that the government will have to step down on its knees before the farming community of this country," said Randeep Surjewala, a Congress party spokesman.

"It will be farmers on one side and big businesses on the other side. How will they fight?"

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/...053722999.html

[JaDed]

Amusing how middlemen are talking about farmers , as if they ever supported farmers lol.

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Another good thing which will only remain alive on papers. Feku at its best.

[MenInG]

The Shiv Sena on Tuesday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its silence on Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut’s tweet calling farmers protesting the farm bills passed by the government as “terrorists”. The Sena, in an editorial in Saamana, said that the political party that “glided like snakes” to what the actress said are now silent on the “insult” to farmers.

[Madplayer]

"(Indian) Parliament passes bill to remove cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from list of essential commodities"

https://twitter.com/PTI_News/status/...863472642?s=19

[Madplayer]

"(Indian) Parliament passes bill to remove cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from list of essential commodities"

https://twitter.com/PTI_News/status/...863472642?s=19

What is essential then? Modi hai to mumkin hai

[MP2011]

Only an out and out bhakt & a gullible soul will ever trust bigot's intentions.

[MP2011]

"(Indian) Parliament passes bill to remove cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from list of essential commodities"

https://twitter.com/PTI_News/status/...863472642?s=19

lol, sanghis' election campaign was heavily financed by all sorts of corporates, both famous & shady ones, they need to recoup their money back and hence these agriculture bills.

[Madplayer]

lol, sanghis' election campaign was heavily financed by all sorts of corporates, both famous & shady ones, they need to recoup their money back and hence these agriculture bills.

You think reliance's Krishi programs have to do something with these bills? If Daal is made non-essential and aaloo are made non-essential, what are the poor in India going to eat? Air?

[MP2011]

You think reliance's Krishi programs have to do something with these bills? If Daal is made non-essential and aaloo are made non-essential, what are the poor in India going to eat? Air?

These bigots have removed middlemen from the APMCs and instead have become middlemen themselves and sold the farmers' to these Corporates.

As for Reliance, not for nothing Mukesh Ambani is going from strength to strength under sanghis. He first killed all his competition from his ultra low data prices and now this.

Air too will be taxed if things go on like this.

[CricketCartoons]

lol, sanghis' election campaign was heavily financed by all sorts of corporates, both famous & shady ones, they need to recoup their money back and hence these agriculture bills.

Please explain what essential commodities act says.

[CricketCartoons]

These bigots have removed middlemen from the APMCs and instead have become middlemen themselves and sold the farmers' to these Corporates.

As for Reliance, not for nothing Mukesh Ambani is going from strength to strength under sanghis. He first killed all his competition from his ultra low data prices and now this.

Air too will be taxed if things go on like this.

by selling farmers to the corporates, what percentage of the crop value will go the farmers. And what percentage was going to them now.

[CricketCartoons]

You think reliance's Krishi programs have to do something with these bills? If Daal is made non-essential and aaloo are made non-essential, what are the poor in India going to eat? Air?

Non essential in that act doesn't mean those items are not needed, or not important, or should not be grown, just like granting Most Favoured Nation status doesn't mean preferential treatment to that particular nation. For better understanding read the Essential Commodities Act and Economic Survey of India 2019-20.

[MenInG]

Farmers in several Indian states are protesting against three new bills the government says will open up the tightly-controlled agriculture sector to free-market forces.

The bills, passed by India’s parliament this week, make it easier for farmers to sell their produce directly to private buyers and enter into a contract with private companies. The government hopes private sector investments will stimulate growth.

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Part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agricultural reform policy, the laws will also allow traders to stock food items. Hoarding food items for the purpose of making a profit was a criminal offence in India.

The government has left us at the mercy of big corporations.

RASHPINDER SINGH, A FARMER

The main opposition Congress party has called the bills “black law” and “pro-corporate”. Its top leader Rahul Gandhi accused Modi of “making farmers ‘slaves’ of the capitalists…”.

But Modi has defended the move. “For decades, the Indian farmer was bound by various constraints and bullied by middlemen. The bills passed by Parliament liberate the farmers from such adversities,” he said in a Twitter post.

Under the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act passed in 1964, it was compulsory for farmers to sell their produce at government-regulated markets, or mandis, where middlemen helped growers sell harvests to either the state-run company or private players.

The government says the monopoly of APMC mandis will end but they will not be shut down, and that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) – the price at which the government buys farm produce – will not be scrapped.

The new laws give farmers additional choices to sell their produce anywhere in the country, in contrast to the earlier situation where inter-state trade was not allowed.
State governments, which earn an income through transactions at mandis, stand to lose out on tax revenues as trade moves out of state or into the domain of private deals.

The protests have been most intense in northern states of Punjab and Haryana, dubbed India’s grain bowls, where mandis are the main centres of farm trade.

Modi, who won elections on a promise of doubling farm income, has been under pressure to bring private investments to an agriculture sector that has stagnated badly.

For decades, farmers found themselves driven deeper into debt by crop failures and the inability to secure competitive prices for their produce. Finding themselves unable to cope, many have resorted to taking their own lives.

The agriculture sector contributes nearly 15 percent of India’s $2.9 trillion economy but employs about half of the country’s 1.3 billion people.

Al Jazeera spoke to farmers and experts on the issue that has become a hot-button issue in the country.

Rashpinder Singh, 27, a farmer from Punjab state

The government has left us at the mercy of big corporations. It is preposterous to believe that farmers who have small land-holdings will have any bargaining power over private players.

Government officials have said that farmers can sell their produce to whoever they want, whenever they want. How can a small farmer store his produce for months on end? He will not have access to storage facilities. As a result, it is very likely that the produce will be sold at a rate which is unsustainable for the farmer.

The bills further state that farmers can come into an agreement with private companies. Such deals are financially attractive but because there are so many terms and conditions attached, it is difficult for a farmer to cope with them. You become the slave of the company. This fight is not just about economics, but also our right to grow what we want and our self-respect.

All assurances given by the government regarding the MSP have not been provided to farmers in writing, they are all verbal assurances.

If a farmer gets into a dispute regarding her/his contract with a private company, it will be very difficult for the farmer to have the dispute settled in her/his favour. How can a small farmer face mighty corporations like Reliance, for instance? A farmer is anyways in a difficult position since agriculture is unsustainable, and then to expect that a person will have it in her/him to fight against big companies means they will eventually be driven towards suicide.

Davinder Sharma, food and trade policy analyst

It’s quite obvious that the bills are not going to benefit the farmer and that is why they are protesting.

There are a lot of problems in the APMC mandi system, which require reforms. Nobody is denying that. But reforming the APMC mandi doesn’t mean you push the farmers from one set of middlemen to another set of middlemen. It is not a solution for agriculture.

The point is that in a country where 86 percent farmers have a land of the size of less than two hectares, you can’t expect the farmer to carry his produce to far off places to sell.

What we need is assured price for the farmers. If the markets are saying they will provide higher price to farmers, the question is higher price to what. There must be some benchmark.

Agriculture is suffering from a depressed pricing over the decades. Farmers have been denied the rightful income over the decades. Agriculture has been deliberately kept improvised.

Let’s reform and expand the network of APMC mandis in the country. Provide MSP to farmers and make it legally binding that there will be no trading below the MSP. Only then it is going to realise the Prime Minister’s vision of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas (together with all, development for all).

Farmers are not foolish. If they would get higher prices for their crops, will they protest on the streets amid coronavirus pandemic?

We are following the American model by bringing corporates into the agriculture.

Kavitha Kuruganti, the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture

The implications of these bills are going to be adverse because farmers actually need protection of their interests in the form of regulations. The government step to de-regulate in the hope that private players will do what the government ought to be doing itself is not going to help farmers.

The overall reading is that there are serious deficiencies in the way the bills have been drafted. Clearly, it’s meant for the agri-business companies and not the farmers. While the government more or less openly says that it’s meant for investors, it obviously has not done enough to ensure that farmers’ interests are not sacrificed.

Sudha Narayan, agricultural economist at Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
The bills are not going to hit all the farmers equally. It’s going to help some and hurt others.

Farmers have now the freedom to sell the crops to anyone. Traders can ignore what the state government legislations are and can buy directly from the farmers and build their own connections with farmers and procure, which is actually a good thing in principle.

The problem with the bills is that they are putting the farmers into the hands of the private players without any safeguards and without any regulations or discipline in terms of price setting. There is a lack of regulatory oversight and price-setting body.

The farmers in the states of Punjab and Haryana are worried that these bills are only the beginning of something larger.

What they fear is that the government will eventually dismantle the state procurement system and the MSP transaction which they depend on.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/...new-farm-bills

[MP2011]

All those agitating farmers are anti nationals and are on payroll of Congress.

[from_da_lost_dim3nsion]

Say goodbye to small family ran farms and say hello to huge MNC ran ones . "Increasing competition " is corporate talk . I thought MODI G was for the little man ...

[Nostalgic]

I hear there is or will be agitation against this in Punjab, since it’s primarily an agricultural state. Pakistan must look to exploit this.

[CricketCartoons]

All those agitating farmers are anti nationals and are on payroll of Congress.

even the educated indians are not smart, so the farmers can be forgiven. have you read the economic survey 2019-20?

[MenInG]

India’s parliament may have passed what it describes as “historic” labour laws that the government says help workers and business alike, but activists fear a loss of labour rights in a push for profits.

Experts said the laws – aimed at protecting workers and streamlining labyrinthine regulation – exempt tens of thousands of smaller firms, and rob workers of a right to strike or receive benefits.

Almost 90 percent of India’s workers operate in the informal sector with no security, low pay and little or no benefits.

The new laws, in the works for years, carry measures to meet the new challenges of COVID-19, which has seen millions lose jobs under lockdown and forced many to walk thousands of miles home where they struggled to find work.

The laws usher in a range of worker rights, such as health checks, home visits, emergency aid and written terms.

India’s labour minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar described the “historic” bills as a “milestone in labour welfare” in India, whose rapid economic growth was built on the back of a fast-expanding labour force working with limited rights.


Red tape, weak infrastructure and poor governance have held back growth, firms say, while advocates for workers’ rights say greater fairness is needed if India is to take a place among developed economies.

“After 73 years of India’s independence, complex labour laws will be replaced by simpler, more effective and transparent laws,” Gangwar said.

“Labour codes will protect rights of workers and make it easier for industries to function … To set up businesses, they won’t need multiple registrations and licences,” he said.

India had 44 labour laws that have been replaced by four labour codes, the first passed last year that guaranteed minimum wages to more workers.

On Wednesday, a sparsely-filled parliament passed the bills on industrial relations, health and safety, and social security, despite a boycott of proceedings by opposition leaders.

Out in the cold
Labour experts said the reforms would further expand India’s informal sector workforce of more than 400 million workers, leaving many without the protection of formal contracts and benefits such as paid holidays and healthcare.

Linking social benefits to the size of the establishment would leave out “millions of informal workers who work in small units, or perform home-based work”, said labour rights non-profit Aajeevika Bureau in a tweet.

The new laws related to layoffs and closures apply only to companies with more than 300 workers, leaving out millions of workers in smaller firms, campaigners said.

“The new laws are tilted substantially towards business,” said labour economist KR Shyam Sundar.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/20...rk-for-workers

[Abdullah719]

Indian farmers block roads, railways as protests mount over farm bills https://t.co/jg2Dil1nzT pic.twitter.com/cUvJ1zMGW2

— Reuters India (@ReutersIndia) September 25, 2020

[JaDed]

Indian farmers block roads, railways as protests mount over farm bills https://t.co/jg2Dil1nzT pic.twitter.com/cUvJ1zMGW2

— Reuters India (@ReutersIndia) September 25, 2020

Wow and then why wouldn't covid sky rocket as well, could had protested in a better manner.

[Abdullah719]

I understand the pain of the farmers. We need a happy farmer for a happy nation. Jai Hind ������

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) September 25, 2020

[CricketCartoons]

govt should roll back the bill and let the earlier system stay. many indians believe that free market is evil, let them have it their way.

[The Viper]

Punjab's Akali Dal Quits BJP-Led Alliance Over Controversial Farm Bills

New Delhi: The Shiromani Akali Dal, the oldest ally of the BJP, on Saturday said it was quitting the ruling party's National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after sharp differences over the three controversial farm sector bills adopted earlier this month.

"The highest decision-making body of the Shiromani Akali Dal core committee at its emergency meeting here tonight decided unanimously to pull out of the BJP -led NDA alliance," Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said in Chandigarh, calling the bills "lethal and disastrous" for its key voter base of farmers.

He said the decision to quit the NDA was taken "because of the centre's stubborn refusal to give statutory legislative guarantees to protect assured marketing of farmers crops on MSP (Minimum Support Price) and its continued insensitivity to Punjabi and Sikh issues like excluding Punjabi language as official language in Jammu and Kashmir."

With this, the SAD became the third major NDA member to pull out of the grouping after the Shiv Sena and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

Mr Badal said the Akalis will continue to stand by its core principles of peace, communal harmony and guard the interest of Punjab and Punjabis and Sikhs and farmers in particular. The decision has been taken in consultation with the people of Punjab, especially party workers and farmers, he added.

The party, which initially supported the bills before realising the extent of discontent against them, counts a vast swathe of its voter base in farmers in Punjab who have vehemently opposed the new laws.

Farmers fear the laws will end the price support system or MSP and drive the entry of private players who, they say, will put small and marginal farmers at risk.

Mr Badal's wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal had resigned as a union minister in protest last week as the bills were pushed through parliament amid a huge outcry by the opposition and a contentious voice vote.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has defended the bills as reforms to help rid India's vast agriculture sector of antiquated laws and allow farmers to sell to institutional buyers and big retailers such as Walmart.

The government insists the new rules give farmers the option to sell their produce to private buyers while it would still purchase staples such as rice and wheat at guaranteed prices.

But such assurances have failed to mollify farmers in Punjab and Haryana who took to the streets, blocking roads and railway tracks on Friday in a protest.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/akal...home-topscroll

[MenInG]

President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave his assent to all the three contentious farm bills, which opposition parties say are anti-farmer and corporate-friendly, after they were recently passed by Parliament during its monsoon session amid vehement protests.

The three bills - The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Service Bill, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 - have now become acts.

The government, which has said that these landmark legislations will make farmers self-reliant, has notified them. More than a dozen opposition parties had urged President Kovind not to sign the contentious bills, alleging that they were passed “unconstitutionally” in “complete disregard” of parliamentary norms.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) even pulled out of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition at the Centre over the passage of the contentious farm bills, which the Punjab-based party said were “lethal and disastrous”. The SAD and the BJP had been allies since 1996 when both forged a pre-poll alliance ahead of the 1997 Punjab assembly elections which brought them to power.

Farmers, especially in Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting against the bills and have said the Centre’s farm reforms would pave a way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big companies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been trying to allay the fears of the farmers, saying that the country’s agriculture sector has unshackled itself after the passage of these bills. Farmers and the farm sector, Modi said, need to be strong to lay a strong foundation of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.

“They have the power to sell their fruits or vegetables to anyone, and anywhere. It is this power which is the foundation of their growth, now the same power has been given to farmers across the country. They have got the freedom to sell not only fruits and vegetables but grains, sugarcane, mustard and anything that they grow, they can now sell to anyone and anywhere they like,” PM Modi said while addressing the 69th edition of his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio programme.

Several Union ministers, including defence Minister Rajnath Singh, have said said the Centre has taken the steps to ensure that farmers get the right price for their produce.

“Our government has taken steps to ensure that the farmers get the right price for their produce. I have studied the bills, and I am saying that the farmers will benefit from it. But some people are trying to mislead the farmers,” Singh said recently.

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, seeks to give freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside the notified APMC market yards (mandis). The government says this is aimed at facilitating remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, seeks to give farmers the right to enter into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price. And the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020, seeks to remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onion, and potato from the list of essential commodities and will do away with the imposition of stock holding limits.

The Sukhbir Singh Badal-led SAD had asked the central government not to bring the bills in Parliament till “all reservations” expressed by farmers are “duly addressed”. But when the Centre did not pay heed, the SAD asked the government to send these farm bills to a select committee, which did not happen. SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal then resigned from the Union Cabinet in protest.

[JaDed]

Good to see the bill has passed, now enforce it, this is what BJP should be about capitalism instead of bringing in religion and what not.

[smkk]

A very good informative video regarding how farmers' bill were pass:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9IjiW5pULc

And regarding the farmer bill itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDRczNZayJ4

[CricketCartoons]

Good to see the bill has passed, now enforce it, this is what BJP should be about capitalism instead of bringing in religion and what not.

many indians think that free market is evil and govt should be the buyer and supplier. So they should get what they want and deserve. one jahil qaum.

[JaDed]

many indians think that free market is evil and govt should be the buyer and supplier. So they should get what they want and deserve. one jahil qaum.

Free market can work only with accountability, Mandis were great for a while too before it became corrupt(as per data) but I rather have Corporates that pay taxes and improve the supply chain become richer than Mandiwalas in Azadpur -who I have seen personally hoarding Potatoes and building "kothis" in adarsh Nagar .

[MenInG]

Police in India have fired several rounds of tear gas and used water cannon on thousands of farmers on the outskirts of the capital New Delhi to prevent the protest march from entering the city centre.

Protesting Indian farmers scuffled with police on Friday during a march to the capital, against new laws, which will make it easier for farmers to sell their produce directly to private buyers and enter into a contract with private companies.

But farmers demand the bills, passed by India’s parliament in September, be scrapped fearing the laws will leave them vulnerable to big corporates.

Television footage showed plumes of smoke and some people throwing stones at police as thousands pressed against barricades, waving flags and sticks. Some rode tractors near the barriers.

Farmer leader Sukhdev Singh told Al Jazeera over the phone from Narwana, Haryana, they will continue marching towards the national capital no matter what.

“If the government thinks that it is going to stop us by using force or blocking the roads, that is not going to happen. We will reach Delhi no matter how much time it takes,” he said.

“This government doesn’t care about the farmers. It’s trying to destroy us and help big corporates.”

“We don’t want to jam the roads. We just want to march to Delhi but it’s the government which is resorting to violence and blocking roads and causing inconvenience to people.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/...-market-reform

Flames emerge from tear gas released by the police to stop farmers from entering New Delhi [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]
Another protesting farmer Sukrampal Dhayana said the police tried to stop them with force, barricades and water cannon, but farmers have “decided to stay the course to make sure the government listens to the voice of millions of farmers”.
Suburban train services into New Delhi were suspended, Delhi Metro said in a post on Twitter, in a bid to stop the protesters from riding the trains.

Senior journalist P Sainath slammed the government’s decision to use security forces against farmers.

“It’s barbarism. Using the border security force against your own people,” said Sainath, the founding editor of People’s Archive of Rural India, an online portal focusing on rural issues.

Play Video
The clashes come a day after police in New Delhi’s neighbouring state of Haryana, governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the farmers who tried to march towards the capital.

The farmers, most of them from the northern state of Punjab, were able to break the police blockade and marched to the New Delhi border on Thursday, but they are not being allowed to cross into the capital.

Al Jazeera’s Elizabeth Puranam, reporting from New Delhi, said that police are citing the record high number of coronavirus cases in not giving permission to protest organisers, but that hasn’t stopped thousands of farmers from neighbouring states trying to reach Delhi for the second day.

“We’ve seen more extraordinary photos today of farmers using tractors to remove trucks, which police are using as barricades.

“They are determined because they want the government to repeal laws they say take away guarantees prices around their produce and leave them at the mercy of private investors. This is a huge issue in India.”

Earlier a police request to use stadiums as temporary jails was rejected by the city authorities, according to local media.

People move away from tear gas released by the police at Singhu border [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]
Under the laws Modi called a watershed for agriculture, farmers are free to sell their produce anywhere, including to big corporate buyers, instead of at government-regulated wholesale markets where farmers are assured of a Minimum Support Price (MSP) – the price at which the government buys farm produce.
The laws also allow farmers to enter into a contract with private companies in a step the government hopes will bring private sector investments in the sector that has struggled for years.


Many farmer organisations and trade unions oppose the new law, saying it would leave small growers with little bargaining power. They also say they fear the government will eventually withdraw price support (MSP) for wheat and rice.

The government says there is no plan to eliminate the wholesale markets.

Agriculture accounts for about 15 percent of India’s GDP but employs nearly 60 percent of its population.

The government says the new laws are aimed at making the vast agriculture sector more efficient by freeing up farmers who want to sell directly to big retailers such as Walmart.

Critics, however, say the changes will end the purchase of grains at prices guaranteed by the government and leave farmers vulnerable to the market.

“They rushed through the farm bills and the labour bills. There was absolutely no reason to focus on the farm and labour bills at this time when you got a pandemic,” Sainath told Al Jazeera.

“They [government] did it because they thought this is the time to do it and these people [farmers] cannot organise and protest and that is how they pushed them through the parliament.”

The governing BJP party has accused the opposition Congress party, which governs Punjab state, of misleading the farmers.

“The opposition parties particularly the Congress party is misleading farmers about the laws. They are saying that MSP will be abolished which is not true, MSP is already existing even after the legislation was passed by the parliament,” Syed Zafar Islam, the BJP Spokesperson, told Al Jazeera on Thursday.

“We took the farmers into confidence before passing the laws.”

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told ANI, a Reuters affiliate, that he had already invited farm leaders for talks next week.

Farmers in several regions of India, particularly in Punjab and Maharashtra state, have been facing a crisis in recent decades with a cycle of drought, failed crops and indebtedness.

In 2019 alone, 10,281 farmers and farm labourers committed suicide, according to government data.

[MenInG]

Thousands of Indian farmers are pressing on with protests in and around the national capital against agricultural legislation they say could be exploited by the private sector to buy their crops at low prices.

After a day of clashes with police who used tear gas, water cannon and baton charges to push them back, the farmers were allowed to enter New Delhi late on Friday.

Television images on Saturday showed some of them moving to the capital while thousands still remained on the outskirts of the city.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar invited the agitating farmers for talks.

“We have called all the farmers’ organisations on December 3 and we have talked before and are still ready for talks,” Tomar said.

There was no immediate response from the leaders of the protests. The protesters said they would not return to their homes until their demands were met.

“They initially wanted to go to the centre of the capital city New Delhi to make the opposition heard but they say if they are not allowed to go to the centre. They will remain on national highways, causing this great interruption to traffic until their demands are met,” Al Jazeera’s Elizabeth Puranam, reporting from Singhu crossing, said.

“It is a bit peaceful today but there is a large police and paramilitary presence monitoring the protest. The agriculture minister reiterated the government point of view that the laws will benefit farmers. He is pleading with them to stop protests.”

For the last two months, farmer unions have rejected the laws, which were passed in September, and have camped out on highways in Punjab and Haryana states.

They say the measure could cause the government to stop buying grain at guaranteed prices and result in their exploitation by corporations that would buy their crops cheaply.

The government says the laws are needed to reform agriculture by giving farmers the freedom to market their produce and boost production through private investment.

“We are fighting for our rights. We won’t rest until we reach the capital and force the government to abolish these black laws,” said Majhinder Singh Dhaliwal, a farmer leader.

Opposition parties and some Modi allies have called the laws “anti-farmer” and “pro-corporation”.

Farmers have long been seen as the heart and soul of India, where agriculture supports more than half of the country’s 1.3 billion people.

But farmers have also seen their economic clout diminish over the last 30 years. Once accounting for a third of India’s gross domestic product, they now produce only 15 percent of the country’s $2.9 trillion economy.

Farmers often complain of being ignored and hold frequent protests to demand better crop prices, more loan waivers and irrigation systems to guarantee water supplies during dry spells.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/...s-in-new-delhi

[rhony]

Free markets and competition. That's how America and Europe developed. Suck it up. Prevail or perish, the country needs to move forward. It's like all those secretaries going on strike because they were losing jobs to computers and software calenders. India's agriculture is one of the most inefficient systems in the world. The food inflation is unpredictable because of some mafias that control.the supply. Enough of the dramas. Corporates function efficiently and will have a sole focus of going after profits. That's how every business has to be run.

[rhony]

A country can be developed if agriculture remains in the hands of an efficient system with not too many emloyed. The wages are too low for the majority. Many should be moved manufacturing and services. Some times they need to be dragged out of it. This seems like an opportunity for that. The pain in the short term especially with covid will be huge and Modi can even lose elections in some states. But kudos to that man for doing what's right. Majority of people employed in agriculture is a hallmark of a backward nation. That will change

[JaDed]

Get it under control, what's the point of Hindutva nonsense if they can't brainwash and bring in capitalism in the name of Hindutva.

The only positive side of right wing is capitalism get one thing right BJP.

[El Generico]

The violence perpetrated by the Indian govt against farmers peacefully protesting is appalling

I stand in solidarity w/ the farmers from Punjab and across India - and, I call on the Indian govt to engage in peaceful dialogue rather than violence

Thank you for your advocacy Jack https://t.co/tBU541Bp4a

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) November 28, 2020

[smkk]

Free markets and competition. That's how America and Europe developed. Suck it up. Prevail or perish, the country needs to move forward. It's like all those secretaries going on strike because they were losing jobs to computers and software calenders. India's agriculture is one of the most inefficient systems in the world. The food inflation is unpredictable because of some mafias that control the supply. Enough of the dramas. Corporates function efficiently and will have a sole focus of going after profits. That's how every business has to be run.

Bro, your entire thinking regarding this matter is wrong. Your Free markets and competition, have technically destroyed the entire agricultural system of US and Europe. Case in point in 2018, every 2 days one farmer commits suicide in France along.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/agr...s-survey-says/

The west developed in the agricultural sector due to better innovation and technology, not because of the free market.

A country can be developed if agriculture remains in the hands of an efficient system with not too many emloyed. The wages are too low for the majority. Many should be moved manufacturing and services. Some times they need to be dragged out of it. This seems like an opportunity for that. The pain in the short term especially with covid will be huge and Modi can even lose elections in some states. But kudos to that man for doing what's right. Majority of people employed in agriculture is a hallmark of a backward nation. That will change

Yes, people need to be transferred to manufacturing and services from agriculture. But you do not forcefully drag them out of it. You do it by improving their living standard and offering them alternative but better financial opportunities like employments or small businesses. This is the job of the Government, and if the govt. cannot do so, then they are not fit to be in the position of authority.

A very good and insightful discussion can be found in the following videos regarding this very matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj4rGHzc-3A

[MP2011]

Bigot has no right to destroy the livelihoods of farmers. He has already destroyed so many businesses by his pet corrupt schemes of demonetization and GST. He can't force farmers to sell their produce to his industrialists friends who finance his election campaigns.

[MP2011]

But the problem with these farmers is that they'll still vote for the bigot and his sidekicks come election time. So these protests don't mean much and will eventually fizzle out.

[CricketCartoons]

Bigot has no right to destroy the livelihoods of farmers. He has already destroyed so many businesses by his pet corrupt schemes of demonetization and GST. He can't force farmers to sell their produce to his industrialists friends who finance his election campaigns.

What are the problems in these farming laws? I heard that it gives the option of being able to sell outside the mandi, but the mandi system will still exist. and punhab has already passed a resolution that this will not apply to their state. so what are the demands?

[rhony]

Bro, your entire thinking regarding this matter is wrong. Your Free markets and competition, have technically destroyed the entire agricultural system of US and Europe. Case in point in 2018, every 2 days one farmer commits suicide in France along.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/agr...s-survey-says/

The west developed in the agricultural sector due to better innovation and technology, not because of the free market.




Yes, people need to be transferred to manufacturing and services from agriculture. But you do not forcefully drag them out of it. You do it by improving their living standard and offering them alternative but better financial opportunities like employments or small businesses. This is the job of the Government, and if the govt. cannot do so, then they are not fit to be in the position of authority.

A very good and insightful discussion can be found in the following videos regarding this very matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj4rGHzc-3A

The output per acre is not even comparable between western countries and India. It's a highly inefficient system that has failed the farmers top down as well as bottom up. The goal should be to increase the output and also the wages of the farmers. It is impossible to do that when you don't adopt technology and when you have more than enough people in it.

In the next 20 years, 20 to 30 percent of the population has to move to the cities. Time is now to prepare for that. It's not government's job to guarantee returns to inefficient farmers. That takes away governments ability to invest in a few targeted growth areas in manufacturing and services.

This is a divestment scheme from the government. This already started in telecom a decade or more ago and other government enterprises. If people complained then and had their way, you would have been paying a lot more as a consumer for a data call or a voice call. Competition drives efficiency and increases innovation. Agriculture can't be entirely privatized but corporates will embrace new technologies and will drive the output. Free markets will help famers get a fair price instead of an "entitled" price.

[El Generico]

My son is in Army and we're being called Khalistani terrorists, says 72-year-old farmer protesting at Burari


https://www.newindianexpress.com/the...b-2229357.html

This must suck, these guys have family fighting at the border but yet are still being called traitors cause of their religion. I wonder how the soldiers feel about their family being attacked like this.

[Romali_rotti]

The violence perpetrated by the Indian govt against farmers peacefully protesting is appalling

I stand in solidarity w/ the farmers from Punjab and across India - and, I call on the Indian govt to engage in peaceful dialogue rather than violence

Thank you for your advocacy Jack https://t.co/tBU541Bp4a

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) November 28, 2020

lol Canadian Khalistani with his agenda post...

No you are still not gonna get Khalistan,

This turbulence will just die down eventually and that will the end, will have to find another issue to cry about.

[Romali_rotti]

Has Raul Puppu and his humanoid sister made an appearance with their oscar winning theatrics like they did for the Bihar rape protests yet ?

[kabbirann]

It will be interesting to see where this goes.

Modi in his hubris and his desire to enrich his masters- the Ambani's and Adani's will not budge an inch and as a Sikh ,I know the almost visceral relationship we have with our land.

Hinduvta trolls can label all Sikhs as Khalistanis because they are that stupid and short-sighted but that won't change the reality on the ground.

[CricketCartoons]

It will be interesting to see where this goes.

Modi in his hubris and his desire to enrich his masters- the Ambani's and Adani's will not budge an inch and as a Sikh ,I know the almost visceral relationship we have with our land.

Hinduvta trolls can label all Sikhs as Khalistanis because they are that stupid and short-sighted but that won't change the reality on the ground.

Khalistan is a fair demand. Hindutva supporters should also support Khalistan and stop being hypocrites.

What are the grievances against the laws? I hear that it gives the option to farmers to sell directly, and it is not being implemented in punjab. So the demand must be something else and not against the laws, as they are not being applied to them. Or am I missing something?

[kabbirann]

Khalistan is a fair demand. Hindutva supporters should also support Khalistan and stop being hypocrites.

What are the grievances against the laws? I hear that it gives the option to farmers to sell directly, and it is not being implemented in punjab. So the demand must be something else and not against the laws, as they are not being applied to them. Or am I missing something?

@ bold- , this kind of ideological consistency would be quite beyond the average bhakt.

As a Sikh though, the very concept of Khalistan is trash.



The above video by the the kisan leaders far better explains the issues that the farmers have with these laws- this is also an emotive issue because of the fear that this will lead to impoverishment of the farmers and thus them losing control of their land.

[CricketCartoons]

@ bold- , this kind of ideological consistency would be quite beyond the average bhakt.

As a Sikh though, the very concept of Khalistan is trash.


The above video by the the kisan leaders far better explains the issues that the farmers have with these laws- this is also an emotive issue because of the fear that this will lead to impoverishment of the farmers and thus them losing control of their land.

Agree with your point that is an emotive issue based on fear. The ordinary farmer would trust the middleman and mandi system instead of corporates, and would believe the feudal rich farmers instead of govt, it is about the devil you know.

But 1. it is not being applied to punjab, as state govt has said it will not be implemented, and 2. the corporate buying is an option, while the existing mandi system will remain. So what is the protest about, when it is not applying to them? rhetorical question.


Indians in general are most ignorant and act like headless chicken, no matter which political spectrum them come from. Even the best indian journalist in my opinion(p sainath) didn't have points against the laws, his main objection was that govt has a bad reputation and cannot be trusted. so can't expect any rational thinking from farmers, when the journalists and educated people like some indian posters here have no critique of the farm laws but want to oppose because optically it looks like the right thing to do.


ps: thanks for calling me an above average bhakt. I wouldn't want sikhs to live under hindu rule in hindu india (which is our birth right) and khalistan is their birth right as well.

[CricketCartoons]

I hate and distrust the Modi government ,I respect and trust the farmers because they are my people.

My sources of information on this are all from the viewpoint of the farmers and those that support all my pre conceived biases - so I wouldn't necessarily call myself well informed.

Truth should not be held hostage to your likes or dislikes. you are spreading fake news of farmer lands being taken away by this law.

[Hornbill]

@ bold- , this kind of ideological consistency would be quite beyond the average bhakt.

As a Sikh though, the very concept of Khalistan is trash.



The above video by the the kisan leaders far better explains the issues that the farmers have with these laws- this is also an emotive issue because of the fear that this will lead to impoverishment of the farmers and thus them losing control of their land.

Why you thinks that concept of Khalistan is trash, infact your ancestors proved that you can control the whole region, hindutva supporters are/were idiots they were not aware of their limitations, they could have easily created a buffer zone by supporting the formation of Khalistan

[CricketCartoons]

Why you thinks that concept of Khalistan is trash, infact your ancestors proved that you can control the whole region, hindutva supporters are/were idiots they were not aware of their limitations, they could have easily created a buffer zone by supporting the formation of Khalistan

Hindutva supporters had no say in the partition. Muslims and sickulars got a good deal, the sikhs and hindus got a raw deal.

[MP2011]

"Farmers have nothing to do with it. It has been hijacked by terrorists and anti-national forces. People coming in swanky cars and in bright clothes cannot be farmers," said a BJP Uttarakhand leader, Dushyant Kumar Gautam.

So whosoever opposes the bigot is anti national and a terrorist. Well done bloody sanghis.

[kabbirann]

This will be remembered- grateful to Muslims for feeding the Sikh farmers.

[kabbirann]

Agree with your point that is an emotive issue based on fear. The ordinary farmer would trust the middleman and mandi system instead of corporates, and would believe the feudal rich farmers instead of govt, it is about the devil you know.

But 1. it is not being applied to punjab, as state govt has said it will not be implemented, and 2. the corporate buying is an option, while the existing mandi system will remain. So what is the protest about, when it is not applying to them? rhetorical question.


Indians in general are most ignorant and act like headless chicken, no matter which political spectrum them come from. Even the best indian journalist in my opinion(p sainath) didn't have points against the laws, his main objection was that govt has a bad reputation and cannot be trusted. so can't expect any rational thinking from farmers, when the journalists and educated people like some indian posters here have no critique of the farm laws but want to oppose because optically it looks like the right thing to do.


ps: thanks for calling me an above average bhakt. I wouldn't want sikhs to live under hindu rule in hindu india (which is our birth right) and khalistan is their birth right as well.

The condescension that urban India has for rural India is fascinating.

You and I and journalists are somehow better informed and more " rational thinkers" than the poor " ordinary" farmers who are actually camping out on the streets leaving their home and hearth behind.

And we are cleary talking at cross purposes because I don't think of you as a bhakt.

[CricketCartoons]

The condescension that urban India has for rural India is fascinating.

You and I and journalists are somehow better informed and more " rational thinkers" than the poor " ordinary" farmers who are actually camping out on the streets leaving their home and hearth behind.

And we are cleary talking at cross purposes because I don't think of you as a bhakt.

Actually I hold more condescension for urban india. You are giving emotional reasoning as if I am judging the farmers because they are poor. You admitted that some people told you that farmers land will be taken away. How can one not be condescending towards those who hold such false views? When the law is not being applied to their state, and when the new option is not replacing the old system, but only creating an option for those who choose, isn't this fascism that these farmers are against any choice being given to other farmers? Fascism using the emotive appeal of being farmers.

tbh govt should repeal the laws and keep the old system as it was, and let the farmers be happy. Just tax the rich farmers and use that to give more subsidy to the poorer farmers. You and I both know what will be the reaction when these rich farmers are taxed.

[MP2011]

Delhi NCR region is witnessing utter lawlessnesss at several places due to high handedness of NCR police and country's home minister is busy in canvassing for Hyderabad municipal elections!

Same thing happened in February earlier this year when entire government machinery was busy in Namaste Trump event and Delhi was burning due to riots!

Wah re iron man!

[El Generico]

It will be interesting to see where this goes.

Modi in his hubris and his desire to enrich his masters- the Ambani's and Adani's will not budge an inch and as a Sikh ,I know the almost visceral relationship we have with our land.

Hinduvta trolls can label all Sikhs as Khalistanis because they are that stupid and short-sighted but that won't change the reality on the ground.

Yeah even on twitter, the protesters are being called Khalistanis and traitors. Its pretty ironic because a lot of the protesters have family in the Indian army.

[ahmedzee]

lol Canadian Khalistani with his agenda post...

No you are still not gonna get Khalistan,

This turbulence will just die down eventually and that will the end, will have to find another issue to cry about.

Ummm..where did he mention Khalistan?
There were protest in Canada too against this Bill. I did see some Sikhs but a lot weren't. But again, not a single Khalistan Banner, the protest was against the Bill.

[ahmedzee]

I think Modi once against created a blunder here. He started his campaign in 2013 on the backbone of working class and poor people of india. Were we so wrong about him. Then came series in anti Muslims Bills (I consider beef ban as one of them). Then came removal or article 370 that even made so many pro India Kashmiri politicians against Modi. Now this one. Why would a farmer vote for his party after all of this?

[ahmedzee]

It will be interesting to see where this goes.

Modi in his hubris and his desire to enrich his masters- the Ambani's and Adani's will not budge an inch and as a Sikh ,I know the almost visceral relationship we have with our land.

Hinduvta trolls can label all Sikhs as Khalistanis because they are that stupid and short-sighted but that won't change the reality on the ground.

Hindutva troll labelled Jagmeet singh (Canadian NDP Leader and Politician) as Khalistani already. lol Basically anyone they don't agree with is a Khalistani.

[El Generico]

Hindutva troll labelled Jagmeet singh (Canadian NDP Leader and Politician) as Khalistani already. lol Basically anyone they don't agree with is a Khalistani.

Yup. I guess Rachel Notley is a Khalistani too.

The Alberta NDP stands with farmers in India who, while protesting peacefully, have been subjected to violence using tear gas and water cannons. #ableg #IStandWithFarmers 1/3

— Rachel Notley (@RachelNotley) November 28, 2020

[JaDed]

I think Modi once against created a blunder here. He started his campaign in 2013 on the backbone of working class and poor people of india. Were we so wrong about him. Then came series in anti Muslims Bills (I consider beef ban as one of them). Then came removal or article 370 that even made so many pro India Kashmiri politicians against Modi. Now this one. Why would a farmer vote for his party after all of this?

After what though a farmer would vote, what do you think is wrong in the bill?

[CricketCartoons]

After what though a farmer would vote, what do you think is wrong in the bill?

What is the wrong with the bill is the image of BJP among its non supporters (an image they have earned). Even if it does what was recommended by economists for long, it can be assumed that it must be a draconian law taking away peoples liberties.

[JaDed]

For all the things BJP does wrong 90% this imho isn’t wrong, this bill is a necessity.

Capitalism is the only system that works..desi countries without accountability don't do well.

We can’t take action against Mandis we can take action against Adani.

[from_da_lost_dim3nsion]

BJP punishing Punjab for not voting for them

[kabbirann]

"Farmers have nothing to do with it. It has been hijacked by terrorists and anti-national forces. People coming in swanky cars and in bright clothes cannot be farmers," said a BJP Uttarakhand leader, Dushyant Kumar Gautam.

So whosoever opposes the bigot is anti national and a terrorist. Well done bloody sanghis.

How did I miss this gem - so only corrupt neta's can come in swanky cars and bright clothes.

This is what I mean when I talk about the paternalistic condescension that these folks have for farmers who should just be perpetually bhooke- nange.

Instead of trying to bring up the quality of life of their farmers, they want to bring down Punjabi farmers to the level of their farmers.

[kabbirann]

Yeah even on twitter, the protesters are being called Khalistanis and traitors. Its pretty ironic because a lot of the protesters have family in the Indian army.

As someone wise once said - BJP is Congress with cow

For Congress, Indira was India, for BJP, Modi is India ,so anyone against Modi is automatically a traitor.

[CricketCartoons]

As someone wise once said - BJP is Congress with cow

For Congress, Indira was India, for BJP, Modi is India ,so anyone against Modi is automatically a traitor.

The usual stuff to discredit the protest by linking with khalistanis (some khalistanis would like to use this opportunity, but that they had to use the farmer protests shows that they don't command support on their own). I talked to some sikh friends in canada, and got to know the side of the farmers, about why they are afraid.

[MenInG]

Jallandhar:

A group of top sportspersons and coaches from Punjab have threatened to return all their medals and awards and lay siege to Delhi if the central government does not repeal its three controversial ordinances that have sparked a furore among the country's farmers.

The sportspersons who have come out in support of the protesting farmers include wrestler and Padma Shri awardee Kartar Singh, Olympic gold medallist hockey player Gurmail Singh, who is also an Arjuna awardee, Olympic hockey player and Arjuna awardee Sajjan Cheema, and former Indian hockey captain Rajbir Kaur, often called "Golden Girl".

In a press conference held at the Jalandhar Press Club today, they said the new farm laws must be withdrawn because they were not in favour of the farmers.

"All the Padma and Arjuna awards, all medal will be returned by Punjab's sportspersons...there will be around 150 of them," said one of the speakers at the press conference.

Over the past week, thousands of farmers, braving water cannons, tear gas and barricades of the Haryana police, have reached the borders of Delhi, to protest against the new laws passed by the Narendra Modi government in September. While some of them have managed to enter the city, the rest are sitting at the border areas, saying they are ready to do what it takes to see the end of the three farm laws passed by parliament earlier this year.

A number of politicians, including the Congress's Rahul Gandhi and BSP's Mayawati have by now spoken out in support of the protesting farmers, saying the government must speak to them and withdraw the new laws.

A number of pop artistes of Punjab, such as Diljit Dosanjh and Harbhajan Mann, have tweeting their support for the agitation. Mr Mann, a Canadian-Indian actor and film producer, even posted several photos of the protest using hashtags like #kisanandolan and #FarmersDilliChalo.

Source NDTV

[MenInG]

India’s government has invited protesting farmers for talks, as tens of thousands of people continue to camp outside the capital, New Delhi, over new agriculture laws that grain producers fear could put an end to minimum prices they have been guaranteed by the government, leaving them at the mercy of private buyers.

“We are presenting five demands. The three new farm laws should be withdrawn,” Jigender Singh from Bhartiya Kisan Ekta Union, told Al Jazeera.

“The law about electricity usage should be withdrawn. The NGT [National Green Tribunal] rule pertaining to crop burning which has a hefty fine, should also be withdrawn,” Jigender, who will be participate in the talks, said, referring to the burning of the stubble by farmers in northern Punjab and Haryana states linked to pollution in Delhi.

The farmers’ leader also said that they will press the government to legally define the MSP [Minimum Support Price – the price at which the government buys farm produce] framework for pricing. They fear exploitation by corporations who might further push down prices.

“We will primarily listen to what the government has to say,” he said.

Jagmohan Singh, another farmers’ leader from Bhartiya Kisan Ekta Union, confirmed to Al Jazeera that a 35-member delegation from various farmer organisations across the country will join the talks at 3pm local time.

Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will join Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar for the talks, according to local media reports.

The government had earlier invited farmers for talks on Thursday but agreed to meet on Tuesday due to cold weather and the coronavirus pandemic, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Tomar said.

The enormous protests that entered their fifth day on Tuesday have rattled the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has resisted calls for the repeal of farm reforms, saying growers were being misled and that new laws would benefit them.

The government is seeking to allay concerns that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) will be abolished. It says that private investment is required to revitalise the agriculture sector, which employs more than half of India’s 1.3 billion people. The sector contributes nearly 15 percent to the country’s $2.9 trillion economy.

Modi insists the reforms are in the farmers’ interests.

During a rally on Monday, Modi dismissed the concerns raised by farmers and blamed opposition parties for spreading rumours.

“The farmers are being misled on these historic agriculture reform laws by the same people who for decades have misled them,” Modi said, referencing opposition parties who have called the laws anti-farmer and corporate. “Our intentions are as holy as the water of river Ganga.”

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the main opposition Congress party, accused Modi of crony capitalism and said the laws would benefit corporations.

“Our farmers are standing up against the black laws and have reached Delhi leaving their farms and families behind. Do you want to stand with them or with Modi’s capitalist friends?” Gandhi said in a tweet.

The protests have lasted nearly two months in Punjab and Haryana states but on Thursday gained national attention when thousands of farmers clashed with police who used tear gas, water cannon and baton charges against them as they tried to enter India’s capital.

The governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been criticised for its handling of the protests not only by the opposition but also foreign politicians. Several Indian-origin parliamentarians in United Kingdom and Canada have criticised the use of tear gas and water cannons on protesting farmers. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who voiced his solidarity with farmers, became the world’s first world leader to comment on the issue.

“The news coming out of India about the protest by farmers. The situation is concerning and we are all very worried about family and friends. I know that’s a reality for many of you. Let me remind you, Canada will always be there to defend the rights of peaceful protest,” Trudeau said during an online event to mark the 551st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav was quick to react to Trudeau’s remarks saying: “What is his locus standi?”
“Isn’t it tantamount to interference in India’s sovereign matters?” Madhav wrote on twitter.

Home Minister Shah pressed for talks on Saturday but said that farmers would have to move their protests to a government-designated venue in New Delhi and stop blocking highways. The farmers rejected the offer and said they would continue camping out on highways until the laws are withdrawn.

“We are at one of the two national highways that are completely closed coming into Delhi, because tens of thousands of farmers are camped out here with hundreds of vehicles,” Al Jazeera’s Elizabeth Puranam, reporting from New Delhi, said. “Because of this, there is a huge disruption coming into the Indian capital.”

Modi’s ministers are scrambling to find ways to assuage their anger. Farmers make up an influential voting bloc across India, particularly in states such as Punjab and Haryana – known as bread baskets of India.

On Monday, Shah met the farmers’ welfare minister, Singh Tomar, for the second time in less than 24 hours after farm organisations rejected the government’s conditional invitation for talks.

Many farmers are prepared for a long haul and have brought food and bedding in their tractors and trucks and say they will continue their protests.

“The government has become a slave of the corporates. They want to turn us into their slaves as well,” said farmer Sukhwinder Singh Sabhra.

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2...mpression=true

[CricketCartoons]

The NGT [National Green Tribunal] rule pertaining to crop burning which has a hefty fine, should also be withdrawn,” Jigender, who will be participate in the talks, said, referring to the burning of the stubble by farmers in northern Punjab and Haryana states linked to pollution in Delhi.

@kabbirann @JaDed what do you think of this demand, which is not related to the farm bills.

[MenInG]

[kabbirann]

https://twitter.com/Er_SunilDwivedi/...338432/photo/1

These farmers say what I have been saying but much better.

[MP2011]

BKU president of its MP unit states farmers' apprehensions about bigot's bigotry.

Once the APMC mandis shut shop, the farmers will be at the command of these private players who will drive down their prices -- contrary to them paying higher prices till the APMCs shut down -- to maximise their own profits. That's what the Ambanis did with the telecom sector.

The Ambanis offered free calls, almost free or cheap data to kill their competition in the telecom sector and now they have near-monopoly in the telecom sector and see how they have been jacking up their prices and making huge profits.

We have no problem with them making money, but if that's happening at the cost of farmers, we will not tolerate it.

The farmers fear, and which is only natural, that the Modi Sarkar will not just stop at making them the slaves of price monopolies that corporates like the Ambanis and Adanis will enjoy in the food processing and retail sector once the APMCs shut down.

These farmers, in the absence of remunerative prices for their crops, will have no option but to sell their land holdings to these rich corporates to sustain their survival.

That's the game plan of Modi Sarkar; they are selling off the farmers' kismet (fate) to these deep-pocket corporates so that they can ultimately grab our lands.